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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “order total”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “order total”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 7 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

F4 Total Stock Value for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Order On Mobile for WooCommerce places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 66 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #3 4 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #4 5 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too low 7 OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too high 8 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too high 9 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Order Minimum/Maximum Amount Limits for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 Supplier Order Email 300+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Total Sales Counts for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Sequential Order Numbers for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14 Minimum Order Amount for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 Cart Weight for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Bulk Order Form for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 Scheduled & Automatic Order Status Controller for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 N Ni WooCommerce Admin Order Columns 500+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Order on Mobile for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓4 8 too high 20 N Ni WooCommerce Custom Order Status 2K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 BD Courier Order Ratio Checker 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 RD Order Modifier for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓5 6 too high 24 F4 Total Stock Value for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.